Proud to Present: A fresh brand for new miracle drink, Nightcap

If I told you that there was a hangover cure that actually works, what would you say?

When we met the boys from Nightcap, I was a little dubious about their claims of having created a drink that could stop a hangover in its tracks… until they explained the science of it all to me. It’s AMAZING! Let me introduce you to Nightcap…

After one too many shocking hangovers resulting in sledgehammer-meets-brain headaches, nausea, sense of shame and general knackered-ness that being hungover entails, Jack and David decided to make it their mission to slay hangovers once and for all, and pioneer a product that’d end the misery of the day after the night before.

Despite there being lots of ‘hangover cures’ on the market, they knew from bitter experience that they’re fairly ineffective, and basically act to simply rehydrate you rather than deal with the hangover itself. You wanted to create an effective, easy to use formula that could be taken on the go, without the need to mix powders and water…. Because let’s face it, after a heavy night, no-one is going to have it in them to be bothered with that.

As a result of endless research in your dogged pursuit of a hangover-free future, you came across Dihydromyricetin (DHM), a natural derivative of a tree native to Korea. Despite being used in its home region for years to prevent hangovers, this wonder ingredient hadn’t yet made it to the UK. DHM works by speeding up the breakdown of acetaldehyde, the highly toxic enzyme produced by the liver in response to alcohol consumption. In fact, DHM speeds up the breakdown of acetaldehyde by five times, drastically reducing the amount of time that this toxin is in your system for and crushing the symptoms of its existence (aka - the hangover) at an astonishing rate. While other products on the market claim to reduce the effects of the hangover, DHM helps the body to metabolise alcohol much faster, stopping the hangover from taking hold in the first place.

Now armed with your super ingredient, you worked closely with a team of experts to formulate your product. You wanted to create a pocket-sized drink that could easily be popped into a bag or coat pocked before a night out – a drink that can be stored at ambient temperature and that could be stomached after too much booze and the inevitable dodgy kebab that follows. Basically, you wanted to make a drink that was as user-friendly as possible.

Nightcap is the first product of its kind in the UK. Bottled in environmentally friendly packaging, it’s a low-calorie, vegan-friendly, gluten-free, sweet-tasting drink with no added sugar and no artificial flavours. By consuming a bottle of Nightcap as soon as possible after you’ve drunk alcohol, it has the power to prevent hangovers, neatly swerving all the horrid symptoms and enabling you to crack on with life the next day.

Colour psychology season personality

The season which best represents the Nightcap brand is Spring, with a subordinate influence of Autumn. Spring personalities are fast paced, sociable and big on fun. Spring personalities are excellent communicators, and as a result they can make friends with pretty much anyone – they’re brilliant team players and can motivate and uplift with their zest for life. They are young at heart, expressive and like to be where it’s at. They love to see people having fun, and their endless optimism means they’ll always find the lighter side of life. Spring personalities are able to keep their finger on the pulse and never stand still, meaning they are modern, forward thinking and on-trend. They can have a bit of cheekiness to them with a naughty sense of humour, but since they deliver everything with an easy smile and lightness, they can get away with it.

Meanwhile, Autumn personalities are dedicated, driven and hard working. Autumnal brands are friendly, welcoming and sociable. Their relaxed outlook on life makes them easy company - they don’t tend to stand on ceremony. Principles really matter to the Autumnal personality; if they’ve made a promise, they’ll keep it – and they won’t compromise on their values.

The brand

The style of the Nightcap brand is clean, modern, confident, bold and energetic. Graphic styles and monoline illustrations provide a fresh, contemporary feel with a sense of lightness. We’ve used quite different – yet complementary – type styles on the board, from rounded san serifs to bold serifs and energetic brush scripts too, which brings a level of personality to the board. All quite different styles, but work together beautifully for a feel that’s unexpected and keeps the eye guessing.

The moon and star theme within the primary logo has worked beautifully as we’ve developed the rest of the brand, creating a really distinctive anchor to the brand which has featured within the icons, patterns and sub logos. We love the bold messaging, and the upbeat, can-do theme - the idea of ‘regaining the day’ was something that came to us as we crafted the brand story for Nightcap. Because really, what people are buying isn’t a drink - its the ability to carry on with life the next day and not lose time to being hungover. We’ve explored this theme through our choice of imagery, opting for photography that has movement, energy and positivity. Overall the mood is upbeat, positive and fun with a bit of an edge – perfect for a brand that makes its own rules and does things its own way.

The boys behind the Nightcap brand are a pretty determined duo and I don’t doubt that Nightcap will be a pretty big name in no time at all!